One lingering question remains after watching “Live Bait:” Can he redeem himself?

It’s the Governor’s turn to take the spotlight in this episode, and it’s not a flattering sight. He’s shaggy, sickly and alone after being left one morning by his trusted sidekick Caesar. Without wheels or companions, he travels solo in the post-apocalyptic world on foot, even stopping for a brief visit to light Woodbury ablaze. The town is a sad, rundown shell of its former self, now crawling with walkers. The Governor wants to see it burn.

After Woodbury, the Governor’s travels bring him to a rundown apartment complex where sisters Lily and Tara are taking care of their terminally ill father and Lily’s young daughter, Megan.

All parties involved start off wary of one another. With the Governor’s old track record, it was probably a wise choice for the apartment-dwelling family to be cautious. But they all eventually warm to one another. The Governor even runs off to an abandoned assisted living facility to find Megan’s grandfather’s oxygen tanks. He is still able to gain the girls’ trust after brutally beating their grandfather, who has started to turn into a walker.

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New and returning television for mid-season 2014

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New shows — including Fox’s “Rake,” starring Greg Kinnear, and CW’s “The 100,” about post-apocalyptic teens — join a number of fall 2013 premieres at mid-season.

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New shows — including Fox’s “Rake,” starring Greg Kinnear, and CW’s “The 100,” about post-apocalyptic teens — join a number of fall 2013 premieres at mid-season.

CW: “The 100”A refreshingly taut and well-executed futuristic sci-fi series about a group of 100 jailed juvenile delinquents who are banished from an orbiting space-station colony and sent to live on Earth — 97 years after a nuclear apocalypse. They’ve barely crash-landed when things get pretty “Lord of the Flies,” but a determined young woman (Eliza Taylor) tries her best to stick to the group’s real mission. Grade: A-Cate Cameron/CW

The new “family” decides to set off for what they hope will be a better, cleaner and safer situation when — surprise! — their truck breaks down and walkers swarm. Things look dire but the Governor is able to take down zombies with his bare hands to save himself and protect Megan.

Deep, deep down somewhere in his dark soul, the Governor is a family man. He is a man who committed strange, immoral acts, only motivated by his desire to cure his daughter Penny. It isn’t unbelievable that he would be drawn to another family, to settle back into his role as a caregiver and protector.

So, the question remains: Can he redeem himself?

It’s easy to be weary of anything the Governor says or does. But he does seem genuinely attached to the young Megan, a girl that must be similar in age to Penny. We have to wait and see what his attachment to her leads him to do. He does, after all, cross his heart and swear to protect her.

Romance report: Lily and the Governor share a few moments. They are very clearly attracted to one another.

More lingering questions: Caesar returns in the end. Where has he been, and why did he leave the Governor in the first place? Also, will Tara and Lily survive? They may be tough, but Tara is injured and limping.

Margaret Ely is a digital editor for Lifestyle. Previously, she was an intern for the Post’s Metro section.

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